Composite boot or shoe.



' PATENTED MAY 2a, 1905. G. P. BUTTERPIELD.

COMPOSITE BOOT OR SHOE.

APPLIUATION FILED-110mm, 1904.

UNITED STATES I Patented May 23, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE F. BUTTERFIELD, OE BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO v GRACE I.BUTTERFIELD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COMPOSITE BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 790,558, dated May 23,1905.

Application filed November 14, 1904. Serial No. 232,558.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. BUTTER- FIELD, of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Composite Boots or Shoes, of which the following is aspecication.

My present invention is an-improved composite boot or shoe consisting,essentially, of a leather or equivalent upper and inner sole unitedmarginally and temporarily in the last'- ing operation, a sole-shapedleveling-strip of friction-coated rubber-saturated duck applied to thebottom of the inner sole within the inward-turned margins of theupper-leather, acontinuous waterproof strip of rubber tape covering themargins of said leveling-strip and insole and interposed between themand the inward-turned edges of the upper,.a` broadwelt sole` of leatherwhich is free from oil and especially adapted to the adhesion of rubber,such welt-sole being raw-rubber coated and sewed marginally to the upperand insole, and, finally, an outsole. of rubber secured by vulcanizationdirectly to the bottom of said weltsole while mechanically held firmlythereto.

The drawing is a transverse section through a shoe embodying myinvention,

5 represents the upper-leather provided with f' the usual lining, and 6is the insole, applied to the bottom of the last, around which the upperextends, overlapping tlie margins-of the insole and secured thereto inlasting the shoe.

7 is a layer of textile fabric, friction-coated and rubber-saturated,adhering firmly to that part of the bottom Vof the innerY sole notcovered by the edges'of theupper. Astrip of vuleanizable rubber tape 8covers the edges of the fabric layer 7 and extends to the outer edges ofthe insole '6. The inward-turnededges of the upper overlap and adhere toit. Said tape softens during vulcanization and penetrates all theinterstices, eifect'ually uniting the parts and forming an internalfoxing or watertight joint. Beneath the shoe -upper thus lasted I applya substantial middle sole 9, of

vfabric'layer 7, and thus a firm foundation is laid for the outer ortread sole ll. The outsole 11V is of rubber held to the shoe-bottomvina'moldaving-iternal configuration the reverse of that desired for suchrubber sole. The rubber when placed in the mold may be in theunvulcanized or partially vulcanized state and its vulcanization eectedor completed under heat and pressure while held in close contact withthe bottom of sole 9. A layer Algmof rayyrubber being applied to saidbottom'V previously-vulcanized outsoles vmay be permanently` affixed bythe Vulcanization of such layer, the requisite chemical elements beingfound in said outsoles. During vulcanization the shoe is held down uponthe mold by pressure applied to the inclosed last or foot ,form and alsoby marginal clamps bearing down upon the upper edges of the welt-sole 9.Pending such pressure the heat of vulcanizing softens and expands therubber, which is thereby forced into every crevice, mesh, and pore andlthe parts of the sole thoroughly united to each other in thetransformation which the rubber undergoes.

I claim as my invention- A composite boot 'or shoe comprising a leatherupper and inner sole, a sole-shaped, rubber-saturated textile layer ofless area than the'inner sole, applied to the bottom thereof leaving itsmargins uncovered, a strip of vulcanizable rubber tape covering theedges of said textile layer and the exposed margins of the inner soleand interposed between them and the inward-turned edges of the upper, incombination with a welt sole of chrometanned leather, free from oil andhaving a coating of raw rubber on its under side, such lether solebeingsecured bya marginal seam to the upper and inner sole andprojecting outwardly therefrom, and with a tread-sole of rubber securedby Vulcanization to the coated bottomof said welt-sole, all of the partsbeing effeotually united, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have aixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE F. BUTTERFIELD.

Witnesses:

H. W. LADD, A. H. SPENCER.

